I got a response from BF and they denied my claim because I don't have a boarding pass.

"In this instane, according to the Decision of the Cour de Cassation dated 02/14/2018 (n° 16-23.205), the European Regulation shall apply provided that the passengers have a confirmed reservation on the flight concerned and present themselves for check-in. Therefore, if you don’t provide us with your boarding pass, we will must respectfully deny your request for a compensation."

First, I don't have a boarding pass because the flight was canceled before check in and one was never issued. Second, they misquoted Article 3(1)(a), which states that passengers fall within the scope of the regulation if they " have a confirmed reservation on the flight concerned and, except in the case of cancellation referred to in Article 5, present themselves for check-in." I haven't read the decision of the Cour de Cassation as they didn't bother to attach it, but I'd be pretty surprised if the court interpreted the regulation to not include this express exception.